Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0Set against UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Abridge records more crime than 70%
All told, Abridge grades B− for safety: close to the middle of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. The local count comes to 22.0 violent and sexual offences and 10.5 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 people each year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Abridge
More crime than many places its size
Of 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Abridge has the 874th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Cwmgwrach, Starcross and South Wingfield, higher than Hamstreet, Littlethorpe and Upper Bucklebury. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Abridge’s grade
A fairly firm grade. Built on 161 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Abridge against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
Abridge places 874th of 1,214 towns its size, the least crime first
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clipsham Rutland | 1,150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 30 | Tolleshunt Knights Essex | 1,059 | 5.4 | 3.5 | 0.3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 67 | Bradfield Essex | 1,254 | 7.7 | 3.7 | 1.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 113 | Stebbing Essex | 1,061 | 7.9 | 5.3 | 1.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 121 | Thorrington Essex | 1,427 | 10.5 | 3 | 1.6 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 871 | Hamstreet Kent | 1,738 | 23.6 | 8.7 | 6.7 | B− |
| 872 | Littlethorpe Leicestershire | 1,918 | 19.8 | 12.7 | 3.8 | B− |
| 873 | Upper Bucklebury Berkshire | 1,036 | 20 | 12.6 | 4.2 | B− |
| 874 | Abridge Essex | 1,651 | 22 | 10.5 | 10.1 | B− |
| 875 | Crowmarsh Gifford Oxfordshire | 1,329 | 25.3 | 7.3 | 2.5 | B− |
| 876 | Glazebury Cheshire | 1,094 | 21.9 | 10.7 | 5.5 | B− |
| 877 | Kibblesworth Tyne and Wear | 1,500 | 22.8 | 9.9 | 2.6 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 1214 | Ingoldmells Lincolnshire | 1,928 | 259 | 64.7 | 57.2 | D− |
Safety letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Abridge, and others in Essex.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Abridge runs highest on violence & sexual offences (20 per 1,000 against 16.6).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 33 | 20 | 16.6 |
| Drugs | not graded | 6 | 3.6 | 0.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 6 | 3.6 | 1.5 |
| Other crime | not graded | 5 | 3 | 1.1 |
| Public order | not graded | 3 | 1.8 | 2.4 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 3 | 1.8 | 1.6 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 2 | 1.2 | 3.2 |
| Other theft | not graded | 2 | 1.2 | 2.5 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 2 | 1.2 | 0 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 2 | 1.2 | 5.3 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
“Violent” is police.uk’s violence and sexual offences (which includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury), robbery and possession of weapons. Anti-social behaviour isn’t a crime category; shoplifting and other theft happen mostly in shops and town centres rather than to residents, so neither counts in the grade.
September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 residents. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people.
Crime in Abridge per 1,000 residents
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
And about 7 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 1 shoplifting and theft report, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
35 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 45 the year before
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling twelve-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year (longer windows for smaller places, where a few crimes swing a month). In the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before: violent -22% (towns its size +3%).
One person died in collisions on Abridge’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 9 collisions with injuries inside Abridge in five years, in which one person died (1 was a pedestrian). 2 people were killed or seriously injured: 1 on foot and 0 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, so with numbers this small a single collision changes the picture; Abridge’s one death is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Abridge’s size at the median for UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people would see about 1 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Abridge had 2.
Casualties are counted where the collision happened, not where people lived: a main road through town adds through-traffic, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Seriously injured uses the Department for Transport’s adjusted figures, which even out the police forces’ different ways of recording injuries. There’s no national rate here: more than half of road deaths in England and Wales (58%) happen outside every town’s built-up area. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), 2021–2025.
Collisions police recorded inside Abridge’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Abridge
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abridge | 1,651 | 22 | 10.5 | B− |
| Theydon Bois | 3,540 | 16.1 | 17.1 | B− |
| Chigwell Row | 2,115 | 30.1 | 15.8 | C |
| Loughton | 33,338 | 30.2 | 17.1 | C |
| Chigwell | 12,251 | 24.1 | 17.8 | C |
| Epping | 10,693 | 31.6 | 21.4 | C− |
| Buckhurst Hill | 11,749 | 22.3 | 22.6 | C |
| Coopersale | 1,067 | 11.3 | 14.1 | B+ |
Abridge records more graded crime per resident than 1 of its 7 neighbours. Coopersale, 3.9 miles away, records 11.3 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Abridge’s 22.
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Where crimes happen, not where victims live. police.uk places each crime at a point near where it happened. Town centres with shops, stations, a hospital and nightlife record more crime per resident, and residents of nearby villages who come in to shop or go out are part of that count.
- Bigger towns record more per resident. Across UK towns, recorded crime per resident rises steeply with size, more than in the U.S., so a city’s grade sits low against the whole UK. The “towns its size” figures show where Abridge sits among towns like it; they are context and don’t change the grade.
- Points are approximate. police.uk moves each point to the nearest of a set of anonymous map points, so crimes near the edge of the built-up area can fall either side of it.
Questions about safety in Abridge
Is Abridge safe?
Police recorded 22 violent and sexual offences and 10.5 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Abridge’s built-up area). That earns a B− for safety: less crime per resident than 50% of UK towns. Among 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Abridge is 874th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Abridge?
Police recorded 35 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 45 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Abridge?
Violence & sexual offences: 33 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came drugs (6) and vehicle crime (6), with 2 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Abridge compare with Redbridge?
Redbridge records 31.1 violent and sexual offences and 17.7 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Abridge’s 22 and 10.5, over the same three years.
Sources: data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain by LSOA (residents from ONS Census 2021) · Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions 2021–2025, points inside the built-up-area boundary · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.